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Are Mini Keyboards Ergonomically-Friendly?

Advanced portability of communication and gaming has brought with it keyboards of various sizes many becoming smaller and smaller. For example, the Blackberry phone has a mini keyboard that allows you to do virtually everything you could do with a laptop. If you’re like most people you may not consider a mini keyboard to be a top ergonomic choice. Perhaps that’s because you’re accustomed to texting on your very small iPhone pad. You may want to re-evaluate your thoughts.

As with any ergonomic keyboard, the main goal of mini ergonomic keyboards is to reduce the amount of stress on the hands and wrists. OSHA has specific quick tips as shown below.

1. “Keyboard Quick Tips

Put the keyboard directly in front of you.

Your shoulders should be relaxed and your elbows close to your body.
Your wrists should be straight and in-line with your forearms.”

Ergonomic designers accomplish the task by ensuring the keyboard design places the hands and wrists in a comfortable position during extended usage. The most comfortable position is that of “neutral”. A neutral position means a position that places the wrist directly inline with your hand without an up or down angle.

Using mini keyboards has several ergonomic benefits. For example, on many mini keyboards you will find a touchpad rather than an external mouse. This helps prevent your hand from being constantly on the mouse when you’re not typing. It also prevents shoulder and arm movement that occur going from the keyboard to the mouse, thus an excellent ergonomic benefit.

Wireless mini keyboards do an excellent job of allowing you to place the keyboard in almost any position. This allows you to choose the best position to ensure you are maintaining your wrists and hands in neutral positions and still maintain the viewing screen at proper distance to prevent eyestrain.

You’ll find many types of mini keyboards available. Some have traditional setups as in standard size keyboards. Others omit the number pad, or have it placed on the left side with the trackball or touch pad being on the right. The key is to make sure when you make your purchase, that it will serve your needs both technically and ergonomically.

If you’re accustomed to traditional keyboard setups, it may take a bit of adjustment to use a mini keyboard. After the initial phase, you’ll most likely agree with other users that the mini keyboard is a good ergonomic addition. Many people are finding that using a wireless mini keyboard rather than their laptop’s keyboard provides the relief and functionality they need and want.

The smaller size and design not only benefits your body, it also makes it easy to accommodate in any location. Whether you’re traveling, in your office, or in your home, a mini keyboard is easy to use, store, and carry. Once you grow accustomed to using an ergonomic mini keyboard, you’ll never want to go back to traditional style keyboarding.

Ok, so you’ve just bought a shiny new electric guitar but what kind of amplifier should you get. Well, full size amps are just too big, too powerful and too expensive to play in your bedroom. A half stacked amp is a good compromise but they can be very expensive, especially if you are just starting out.

If you are one those guitarists that like to shift their gear around from gig to gig without a squad of roadies in tow or if you are a beginner without the budget of Joe Satriani then its a great idea to grab one of the many amazing guitar mini amps that are on the market nowadays.

Unlike early models, the current clutch of guitar mini amps boast a sound and feature set that rivals their big brothers, but at a fraction of the cost. Take for example the iconic Marshall amp, loved by heavy metal gods around the world. Well, you can now get a whole range of Marshall guitar mini amps that boast the same looks, a great grumbling sound and even have some additional features like distortion, overdrive and headphone jacks for when the rest of the family just have to get some sleep!

Quality is never compromised with the better brands such as Marshall and Fender. You get the same attention to detail, build quality and, of course a sound that would satisfy all but the most hardcore enthusiasts – all powered by a 9V battery.

So, if your idea of a gig is more like the local mall than the local concert hall, and you don’t have a truck to move all of your gear around in, then I would advise you to look at one of the great little guitar mini amps that are out there. Just stick it in a backpack and hop on the bus, but remember to pack a spare battery – or of course you could just leave em all wanting more! Happy rockin.

Dont be a mug and lug that big stack of amps around with you. Get a genuine Guitar Mini Amp at my website for only a few bucks.